30 May 2016

Sea Otter Highlights on Medney Island

We are west bound back to the Kamchatka Peninsula having spent the last two days at the Commander Islands.  I always enjoy our days here but they are never long enough and there is never enough of them. Our first stop was at the small village of Nikoi’skoye where we had formalities to complete (as you might imagine the Border Guards are very active in this part of the world), then there were options of a Birding Excursion  and/or a visit to the local museum (highly recommended as I think it is one of the best regional museums in the Russian Far East). There was also option of visiting a gallery of a local artist and writer or simply exploring the village  where there are a number of monuments celebrating the (accidental) discovery of the Islands by Commander Vitus Bering, after who the Islands are named.

In the afternoon we focused on the wildlife with visits to a Northern Fur Seal colony and a seabird island and Stellar Sealion rookery. The weather deteriorated in the late afternoon with rain and stronger winds but had eased again by this morning allowing us to visit nearby Medney Island. I have visited literally hundreds of Islands around the world. Medney is amongst one of my favourites - it has history, it has atmosphere, it has landscape and it has great wildlife, and we had all of that on our visit today. The highlight for me was to spend time with the Sea Otters. There is just something about them that is so appealing - I find hope in the fact that they have come back from the brink of extinction after being hunted relentlessly in the 1800’s for their pelts. The Commander Islands is an outstanding Nature Reserve offering protection for the wildlife and incredible experiences for the visitor.

Sea Otter © Heritage Expeditions